2008 Racing Season is Over!

Pictures:
(directly above)taking a corner in the final stage of The Green Mtn Stage Race.
(top image)Provincial Hill Climb Championships. 4th place.

Wow, what a year it has been! Like usual, a long racing season filled with ups, downs, success, failure, and most importantly, experience. I personally find my true strength in the last few races of the season, and this year was no exception. In the Elliot Lake stage race, I came 2nd GC(time based) in the Espoir category. The weekend after at the Green Mountain Stage Race in Vermont, I raced for team Ontario and had very impressive results. I finished 11th in the epic road race which finishes on top of a mountain. That 11th brought me to 13th in the GC! Unfortunately the season ended on a bit of a sour note for me, having crashed out of the final stage of that race in the final lap. I soon found out that I broke my collarbone, which meant weeks off the bike completely. The first week after crashing was a well deserved break from the bike, and it was nice to just put my feet up and chill out. The withdrawls soon came in the following weeks, and I was really antsy to get riding. It has now been a month and 2 days since the crash, and I am feeling very good.
It's going to be a long off-season with alot of the usual winter training, and I'm already excited to see what 2009 has in store. We have a strong dedicated team that, hopefully will continue to move in a positive direction.

Elliot Lake 2008

Three members of the team, myself, Jon and Isaac treked up north to the Elliot Lake Stage Race this weekend to contest the provincial hill climb tt (3.5km), a very technical downtown criterium and the provincial road race championships (148km).

The hill climb started early Saturday morning and was a good shock to the system to start the weekend. The team placed well in this first event to gain valuable GC points with Jon riding fastest up the climb in 7min 17s (4th U23), myself placing third in the senior category with a 7min 21s effort and Isaac getting a PB on the climb with a 7min 50s clocking.

The torrential thunder storm that unfolded before the start of the criterium, and consequently delayed the start of our race, was good foreshadowing for how the race would turn out on sat afternoon . The race started in the calm after the storm sort of conditions with a light drizzle coming down under grey skies but the technical course was still very much soaked. I made sure to grab a spot on the line so I could quickly make my way to the front to hold position to avoid the crashes that were to follow. Almost every lap we came through the back chicane we had people waving us down to avoid yet another crash. The race worked out where Jon was able to make his way up in the leading chase group to hunt down the leading soloist, Matt Bell, and grab 4th place. I finished with what was left of the peleton and placed 18th in the crit.

The road race went at noon the next day on sunday under much nicer, sunnier conditions, however there was still a considerable head wind coming out of the north on the north-south out and back course. Isaac helped initiate what was surprisingly to be the winning breakaway that formed on the second lap. Jon and I battled it out in the peleton where the pace constantly oscillated between a pedestrain 20km/hr to countering the persistent attacks up the back climbs. Jon eventually stuck it out with the leaders of the peleton to bridge up to Isaac's breakaway group to finish a strong 5th in each of the respective categories (U23 & RME.1). I didnt fair so well at the end of the road race and bonked really hard on the final lap and came home in 9th for the senior men cat.

At the end of the day the team did very respectable, even though we only had three guys, with Jon placing 5th, myself 12th and Isaac scoring 18th on the GC board.

Peterborough Douro Race Weekend

After a tough weekend of racing with some pros in Rochester, I figured that the Peterborough 107km race this past weekend would be a joke... well, it wasn't. The race started slowly which allowed the field to warm up a bit and get some words in. Then, a break went up the road with some good riders, but no Aquila Racing riders. I didn't really panic, as I was constantly reading the pack to see if they were motivated to chase or whether they were racing for 50th place. Not only that, but there were riders in my field that are strong, experienced, and wanted a victory. Sure enough I got into a chase group along with Justin, that made it clear of the peloton and was on its way to catch the leaders. Next thing I knew, Isaac had bridged up to us with another rider. Then out of nowhere, Mike joined us with another rider. We now had all our guys in the chase en route to catching and becoming the leaders. Sure enough, we caught them and with only a few kilometers to go, it was like a chess game; nobody wanted to work and guys were attacking. Three top riders managed to get away from us and so the race was on for fourth. We all finished quite well. I finished 11th, while Justin came 14th all same time. Isaac had done his job earlier in the race and sacrificed himself, yet still finished in the peloton, as well as Mike.
The day after the road race there was a 40km Time Trial. I was feeling a bit burnt out, but still in a positive race mode. I raced the Eddy Merckx style which is simply a time trial with no aero equipment...just a road bike. I chose that category because my TT bike was disassembled from swapping components, but it's also a good way to simulate breaking away on your own on a road bike in a road race or criterium. The TT had lots of rolling hills and a stiff headwind/tailwind. Well, I won the time trial with a time of 57:40 which was faster than some riders did with full TT equipment. Mike came in 5th in the Eddy Merckx, and Isaac finished 11th in the regular TT.

Halton Road Race

Last weekend, three of us showed up to the soggy Halton O-cup road race. Conditions were grim, early in the morning with steady light rain. By the time the Cat 1/2 riders were off the rain seemed to stop just in time. Things were looking great. The course was especially my kind of course, given the hills.
Minutes before our race, the three of us took a quick spin and had a pre-race chat. I then realised that the tires I was riding on were over-inflated for the wet conditions. 140 psi for a 145 Ibs rider was too much for wet roads. I got off my bike and let some pressure out, but I let too much out by accident. Now I had to find a pump to put a bit more air in. Luckily, I found someone, who I asked to inflate my tire, but the pump head couldn't fit properly on the short valve stem. Instead, air was completely let out of my front tire and I now had a flat with four minutes to go. I desperately ran up to anybody asking for a pump, but nobody seemed to have one ready, until I reached a cyclist who had finished his race and was waiting in his car for the last race to go. He saved my life with his pump! I was all inflated and made it to the start on time. That is a mistake I will never make again!
Seconds after our race started, the rain came in with a vengeance. For nearly 4 hours of the 153km race, it poured off and on. At times we would be descending at high speeds almost blinded by the spray of water. Isaac, Justin and I were feeling good, chasing attacks. At one point, Justin got into a good chase group. The field eventually re-grouped with a few riders up the road still. Justin rode impressively into the top ten while I finished with the group about a minute behind. Isaac pulled out due to his recovery from a cold he got while training in the rain a couple weeks ago. He also rode well.

OBC Grand Prix Gatineau

Riding behind the Garneau-Crocs(in pink) as they chase.
Last weekend was my first race since Nationals, and also the start of a new phase. I am concentrating on building up base again, and making plans for upcoming races.

I headed down to the Gatineau Grand Prix in Ottawa which is always a great race. I have done this race for 4 years now and the organisers always do a fantasic job. The course is very hilly which best suits me.

Having no teamates at this race, I knew I had to be even more aware of every move. I stayed near the front at all times, and moved up on the hills so that I wouldn't have to fight my way back up if someone in front of me couldn't handle the pace. I chased down breaks that looked good, but strong teams would rally to the front and reel everything back in. I figured it would come down to a bunch sprint. I was almost right, given that less than a handful of riders made it clear of the field and finished just seconds in front. The main field had a bunch sprint for top 10, but no podium spots. The 130 kilometer race was just not enough to shatter the field, although many riders couldn't keep up.

Nationals

The first week of July I headed down to St. Georges de Beauce Quebec with my family for the National Cycling Championships. Alot of hard training and some confidence from being selected to represent Ontario, and I felt prepared to race against Canada's best cyclists.

The day of the time trial, I felt anxious to get going on the 40km journey. My start time was in the first third of the 77 elite/u23 riders taking part. I knew going into this time trial that it wasn't going to be an easy ride, having done the exact same course last year only shorter. Bad roads, hills, extreme wind and 40 kilometers of all-out riding were elements that I had to tackle. After a good warm-up, I headed to the bike check where officials with black/white referee shirts checked if my bike setup was legal. Once I got the all-clear, I sat down on a chair to await my start. Every minute, another rider was off from the start ramp, and the riders waiting their turn would move on to the next chair, each time closer and closer to the start house. Finally it was my turn. All I could think of was the task at hand and I blocked everything else out of my mind. There was a serious headwind the entire way out for 20km and it was all uphill and very hard, but that was the time to gain time on other riders. The way back was downhill with a tailwind, and I reached blazing speeds. When I passed the finish line I knew in my mind that I could have given it more. I finished in a respectable 25th overall and 13thU23.

The road race took place 2 days after the TT, not far from that course. Nearly 150 riders took to the start line of the 180km race. It was a really hot day with the sun beaming down on all riders. The first few laps were pretty easy in the peloton. A break had gone up the road with a handful of riders who were gaining on the field. After the first few laps, The peloton decided it was time to lay the hammer down. The entire field of 150 riders was strung out, and then the inevitable; riders couldn't take the pace and started leaving gaps open which eventually shattered the entire field into small groups. I was suffering badly and all the self-convincing that was going on in my head to keep going wasn't cutting it anymore. Eventually I dropped from my group. At the time, I didn't realise just how many riders had pulled out and how many still remained. I couldn't believe that out of 150 riders, only 35 finished. It turned out to be a disappointment for me, but there's much more racing this season, and I have to pick myself up and use those experiences to propel myself.

K-W Classic Road Race

Last weekend, the Aquila Racing/Racer Sportif team had a great showing at the K-W classic race, with 5 of us taking to the start line. Sebastian was racing his first race of this year, after suffering a broken collarbone. Despite busy work schedules, the guys were all in good spirits.
We took a different approach to the race, to try new things as a team. We were very active in the front, in breaks, and attacks, but nothing seemed to make it away from the peloton for good. Heavy rain early in the race made things interesting, and surprisingly not very dangerous. Near the end, things had dried up nicely, and the riders were spent from a hard day of racing.